


seven

by danversdonut



Series: it's nice to have a friend [2]
Category: Glee
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:54:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26122324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danversdonut/pseuds/danversdonut
Summary: A companion piece to 'it's nice to have a friend'. Takes place after the first scene in the second chapter - can be read separately to 'it's nice to have a friend'.Basically just childhood fluff that examines their friendship and the items they connect to their friendship.
Relationships: Santana Lopez/Brittany S. Pierce
Series: it's nice to have a friend [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1896700
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	seven

**Author's Note:**

> Hi,  
> I wasn't planning on writing any more pieces in this universe, but then Miss Swift dropped folklore, and from the moment I heard it, seven connect to it's nice to have a friend in my head and thus, my inspiration was formed.  
> This fic will make more sense if you've read inthaf, mostly just for context, but you can read it if you haven't! There are a few spoilers for inthaf towards the end of this piece, but nothing major.  
> This did get a tiny bit angstier than I expected, but I hope you'll all forgive me, because the fluff really does outweigh the angst.  
> As always, this isn't edited, so please excuse any mistakes, I promise I will go back and edit everything at some point.  
> Follow me on twitter @diannasfvbray.  
> Enjoy!!

Santana holds the snow globe delicately in her hand.

She stares down at the tiny tree encased in glass, taking in all the details of the treehouse resting on the plastic branch. Her hand wobbles slightly and a few of the miniature autumn leaves drift down from where they’d lodged themselves in the tree.

‘Look,’ She says slightly breathlessly, having run down the stairs to show off her new item to her parents.

‘Wow,’ Javier smiles down at her and takes the snow globe out of his daughter’s small hand. ‘It’s beautiful.’

Santana grins, her tongue sticking out slightly through the gap where her front tooth is missing, ‘It’s just like our treehouse, the one at Brittany’s house.’

She bounces up on the balls of her feet, plucking the snow globe out of her father’s hand and staring intently at it again.

Maribel meets her husbands gaze and raises her eyebrows, amused about how excited Santana over this small object.

Santana’s more than excited – she’s infatuated. This is the first meaningful gift she’s gotten from Brittany. They hadn’t done Christmas presents the year earlier, just given each other chocolate bars – Brittany had checked about fifty times to make sure Santana’s had no peanuts in it. They’d both had birthdays over summer, but they’d agreed to get each other matching Barbie dolls.

The snow globe is the first thing Brittany has ever _selected_ specifically _for Santana_. It makes her insides flop around in that way that she just associates with Brittany doing anything _for_ her. Brittany went to Seattle to visit her grandparents and was still thinking about Santana, enough to go into a store and see a snow globe and want to buy it for her simply because it reminded her of _them_.

She feels fuzzy at that thought. _Them_. It sounds nice. She likes the way Brittany makes her feel.

_Britt-Britt and San, together forever._

That thought brings her back to their conversation in the bathtub – Brittany’s concerns that it wouldn’t always be them.

‘Oh,’ She says, remembering the other exciting thing that had happened during the sleepover, ‘Brittany’s going to be a big sister.’

Her mother’s eyes widen, ‘Really?’

She nods her head, ‘Yep.’ She pops the p. ‘She told me last night.’

Maribel smiles, ‘Well that’s very nice, I’ll have to call Whitney and congratulate her.

Santana tightens her grip around the snow globe, running her thumb over the smooth wood of the base.

She repeats the motion over and over as she sits at the kitchen counter, watching her mother as she chops an apple and slides it over to her on a plate. She keeps one hand on it as she places pieces of apple in her mouth with the other and listens to mother dialling Whitney Pierce’s number and congratulating her.

She can’t hear exactly what Whitney is saying on the other end of the line, but the corners of her mouth curl up as she makes out Brittany’s voice in the background, saying something loudly.

That smile gets bigger, as she hears Maribel planning for them to meet up on Monday morning and take the girls to the first day of school together.

She spends the evening examining every detail of the snow globe.

She’s gentle with it, not wanting to damage it in any way, placing it on the table in front of her twisting it slowly. Her eyes are wide as she takes it in – she can see them reflected in the glass.

Seeing her own eyes reminds her of yesterday when Brittany was standing right in front of her – Brittany's nose had been about an inch above hers, but she’d been looking at Santana, so Santana was able to look right into her eyes. They were so bright blue it was almost startling – a contrast to Santana’s dark brown ones – she thinks she could probably stare into Brittany’s eye’s forever.

If she could she’d take a marker and draw lines between the freckles dotted across Brittany’s nose, connecting them like a dot-to-dot, making constellations on her face. She thinks Brittany is just as beautiful as the night sky.

They’d spent time that summer with Brittany’s dad on the roof of her house, sitting with a telescope and learning the stars. Sometimes Santana finds her staring at Brittany’s face trying to learn it like the stars. She wants to memorize the details, commit them to memory and never forget exactly what Brittany looks like.

There’s a part of her that thinks these feelings are too big for her to be having. Like she’s living a part of her life that’s meant to happen further in the future.

Spending time with Brittany makes her happy. She likes being happy. She likes Brittany.

No. She loves Brittany. She loves her in a way that is too big for her seven-year-old brain to understand – it’s something that will take her years to fully wrap her head around.

For now, she knows that Brittany is her best friend and she loves spending time with her and getting gifts from her.

She holds the snow globe close until she has to go to bed. She places it on her nightstand, and when she opens her eyes in the morning it’s the first thing she sees.

She starts the day with a smile.

She leaves it in that spot from then on so that her first thought of the day will always be Brittany.

She finds that most mornings she doesn’t even need the snow globe to make that happen.

\----------

Unlike the first day of first grade, Santana doesn’t walk into the classroom with her mother.

Instead, she walks in with Brittany, pinkies linked tightly. Brittany’s nervous, Santana can tell – she squeezes her finger more firmly than usual, and she drags her feet as she walks, not wanting to get to the classroom.

It’s been a whole year, and she’s familiar with the people and the environment. But she’s still nervous. Nervous about having a new teacher. Nervous about being in a new classroom. Nervous everyone in the class will be smarter than her. Again.

Santana knows this, even if Brittany hasn’t actually told her. They understand each other – it’s something neither of them can explain to anyone else, but they know each other in a way that goes beyond the things they’ve told each other or the things they’ve observed.

They just get one another.

Neither of them knows what it means.

Santana keeps a tight grip on Brittany’s pinky as they take their backpacks off and put them in the cubbies – next to each other of course – Brittany’s labelled in pink, Santana’s in purple. She helps Brittany take her lunchbox out and place it next to her bag, _‘just in case_ ,’ Santana whispers, even though Brittany hasn’t forgotten to eat her lunch in almost a year.

This classroom is different than their first grade one – the tables are arranged in a circle, their new teacher Mr Pete standing in the center, smiling at his new students as they slowly file into the room.

Santana stops before they can enter the circle, where other kids are starting to sit – Rachel Berry is already cross-legged on the carpet next to their teacher, back ramrod straight. Santana rolls her eyes.

Brittany gives her pinky a tiny tug, and she tears her eyes away from Rachel to face their mother’s, who followed them into the classroom. She releases Brittany’s pinky for just a second as she hugs her mother – Maribel pulling her close and kissing her on the forehead with a muttered, ‘I love you, have fun.’

Whitney presses her own kiss to Brittany’s head and waves at Santana before the two women leave the room, glancing over their shoulders to see Brittany hold her pinky out to Santana for her to hook hers back over.

The momentary confidence that Brittany had acquired after her mother said goodbye disappears as she turns back to face the circle. Her heart drops into her stomach at the way Mr Pete looks at them, smiling, but clearly thinking about something.

She holds onto Santana tighter.

Mr Pete instructs them to sit in a circle and they go around sharing what they did over the summer. Brittany keeps her mouth clamped firmly shut when it reaches her – she doesn’t want the class to know about Seattle, because Seattle is linked to her accident, and she doesn’t want the class thinking she’s broken. Or stupid – she’s heard Noah Puckerman mutter it under his breath when she couldn’t spell a word last year.

He’d said it in the same, not-nice voice he used when he corned Santana by the bubblers and called her a witch. She’d yelled at him in Spanish, which only made him angry and he started saying it every time he saw her.

Brittany doesn’t understand why – witches use magic – Santana’s beautiful, but she’s not magical. She’s just _Santana_.

Anyways, Spanish isn’t magic either, it’s just a language. Which is what she told Noah, but he’d just laughed at her.

So, she keeps her mouth shut because she doesn’t want to give him more of a reason to laugh at her.

There’s a moment of silence and she expects Mr Pete to prompt her, but he just stares. She looks over at Santana, she’s searching for something in her eyes – she doesn’t know what, but she looks into Santana’s eyes and shakes her head, and Santana just knows.

She jumps in, answering for the both of them, ‘Brittany and I had lots of sleepovers and played in her treehouse a lot.’ She smiles.

Brittany’s heart jumps at the thought of _their_ treehouse.

Mr Pete smiles at them, ‘That sounds like loads of fun.’

Brittany meets his eyes and nods once, before quickly averting her eyes.

Mr Pete explains that the center of the circle of desks is called the ‘central learning space’ and they will all be allocated seating that they will stay in for the whole year.

The look on his face earlier suddenly makes sense to Brittany as Santana’s name is called out first to sit at the very last table, and Brittany’s is not called to sit next to her.

Kurt Hummel takes his seat with a slightly nervous glance at Santana. She looks like she might protest, but Brittany just shrugs at her, telling her its okay. She’ll be alright next to someone else – not as comfortable as she is next to Santana, but she’ll manage – she doesn’t want Santana getting in trouble on their first day.

The problem comes when Brittany’s name gets called directly after Noah Puckerman’s. She takes a deep breath and stands on shaky legs to go and take her seat. Then Finn Hudson’s name gets called, and Brittany freezes mid-step.

She hears Santana’s chair scrape back, and her eyes flick over to Santana, trying to tell her to stop without actually saying the words. Santana halts, halfway out of her chair, mouth open, but not saying the words.

Brittany feels stuck. She doesn’t want Santana to cause a scene. But she also doesn’t want to sit in between Noah and Finn.

It’s Santana’s face that prompts her to move again – her features and curved into a frown. It makes her stomach swoop in that nice, warm way that Santana makes her feel. She’s seen that frown before, but there’s something about the fact that this expression because of _her_ that makes her feel tingly.

Santana protects her, _always_.

She takes her seat in between the boys. They don’t look at her. She doesn’t look at them.

They mutter under their breath the whole class; they lean across her and throw joking punches that make her flinch. She ignores them though, keeping her eyes firmly locked on Santana.

Santana glances at her every few minutes, a tiny smile lighting up her face every time. But mostly, she focuses on Mr Pete who is talking at the class from the middle of the room, spinning in a little circle to see them all – which Brittany thinks is a bit ridiculous and could have been avoided if he just sat them normally. He must be very dizzy.

There’s a moment, just before the recess bell rings, when Santana meets her eyes, smiles, and then lifts her hand up, extending her pinky as though she’s going to hook it through Brittany’s.

Brittany smiles, despite Finn slamming his fist down on the table next to her, she lifts her pinky too and curls it, imagining she can feel Santana’s pinky linking up with hers.

Santana’s smile widens.

They’ll be okay, even if they’re sitting on opposite sides of the classroom.

They’ll be okay, because they still have each other.

\----------

Santana climbs onto the bus a step ahead of Brittany, her left arm hanging behind her keeping her pinkie hooked around Brittany’s.

It’s the same bus they’d caught together for the second half of last year, they get on together, they get off together.

It ended up working out well, because after two months it had become clear that the two girls were completely inseparable, and the prospect of getting to spend time together outside of school hours was amazing.

So, each afternoon, they got on the bus, sat next to each other for the ten minutes it took to get to the stop down the street from Brittany’s house. Whitney would wait at the gate for both of them, ushering them inside with a smile and setting them up with some snacks and listening to them chatter excitedly about their day.

Most days, Maribel would show up shortly after that to collect Santana, and Brittany would wrap her up in a tight hug, squeezing her pinkie with her own, before waving goodbye.

Other days, Maribel would get stuck at work until just before dinner, caught up with some emergency, or difficult patient who was attached to her and did whatever they could to prevent her leaving – _‘Their memory is going,’_ She’d tell Santana, ‘ _Sometimes they just like someone familiar to be there.’_

On those days, Maribel would show up flushed, apologizing profusely to Whitney – who would wave them away and tell her what a delight Santana was to have over. Maribel would usually send Santana to school the next day with an extra cupcake for Brittany to eat during recess.

Secretly, Santana loved those days, because she got to spend more time with Brittany – they would play dolls in her room, or draw at the kitchen table, or, if the weather was nice they’d take their games to the treehouse and Santana would feel a rush of warmth spread through her as Brittany grinned, gap-toothed and freckly as she climbed the ladder to her favorite spot.

This year, Maribel has been trying extra hard to get off work on time. She didn’t want Whitney to be under any extra stress while she was pregnant – even though Whitney insists it’s no trouble.

Because this, it’s a month into the school year before Santana stays at the Pierce’s all afternoon. It’s a Friday, and Maribel calls Whitney before Santana and Brittany even make it to Brittany’s house. A lady at the nursing home broke her leg and wants Maribel to go in the ambulance with her since she has no family in the area.

Whitney makes them sweet tea to go with their snacks. Brittany had been talking about it at lunch that day, and Santana had mentioned that she’d never had it. Brittany’s jaw had dropped, and she informed Santana that she’d ask her mom to make it that afternoon.

Santana chews on the straw in between sips. She likes it, she thinks, but she also saw the amount of sugar Whitney added to it and thinks maybe she just likes how sweet it is.

Brittany watches her excitedly for her reaction.

Her nose wrinkles slightly, but she lets the flavor sit on her tongue for a bit, trying to get used to the taste.

‘I like it,’ She says slowly.

Brittany claps her hands together, ‘Yes!’ She looks at Whitney excitedly, ‘She likes it, Mom.’

Whitney smiles, ‘I can see that sweetie.’

Whitney lets them pour their tea into sippy cups and take it out to the treehouse.

They climb the ladder carefully, sliding onto the little attached balcony and siping their tea occasionally.

Brittany turns to Santana suddenly and says, ‘Do you want babies one day?’

The change of topic startles her slightly, ‘I don’t know.’

It’s the truth, she doesn’t know. She feels too little to really know all the answers to the big questions people ask – Especially ones like that, about future scenarios that she can’t possibly answer with complete certainty.

‘I do,’ Brittany says.

She knows Brittany’s been thinking a lot about babies recently, mostly because she’s learning more from her Mom every single day.

She tries to picture another version of Brittany in her mind. It doesn’t work, there’s only one Brittany. It feels weird to picture Brittany as a grown-up – to picture _herself_ as a grown-up – to think about them getting married to other people and having babies that they raise in their separate homes.

It’s not like she sees Brittany every single day, there are some days where they don’t see one another, but thinking about it now, she hardly ever sees her Mom’s childhood friends – maybe once or twice a year – it hurts to think that Brittany won’t just always be there

‘You’ll be a great Mom, Britt,’ She says anyway.

‘Really?’

‘Yes, really,’ She smiles, putting down her sippy cup to hold her pinky out to Brittany, ‘You’re good at everything.’

Brittany sighs, ‘Not _everything_ – I’m still not very good at school.’

Santana shrugs, ‘I think you’re good at school.’

Brittany catches her gaze and her face breaks into a grin, ‘Thanks, Santana.’

Santana grins back, her nose scrunching up in that adorable way that it does when she’s proud of Brittany.

Brittany lifts up her pinky and declares loudly, ‘Pinky promise you’ll always be here,’ She giggles, ‘Even when we’re old and married to boys,’ She scrunches her nose, ‘You’ll always be there for me.’

Santana’s stomach bellyflops, she lifts up her pinky and twists it around Brittany’s, ‘Pinky promise.’

\----------

Whitney Pierce being pregnant has changed something in Brittany – Santana notices this over the course of the next few weeks.

It’s more than just her being worried about no longer being an only child or her worries about her parentage.

It’s deeper than that, and Santana can’t quite figure out what it is.

Santana usually talks a lot when she’s at the Pierce’s – but Brittany’s behavior intrigues her, so she forces herself to keep her mouth shut and observe instead.

Brittany’s quieter too, so if she notices the shift in Santana’s behavior, she doesn’t say anything.

Brittany spends a lot of time looking at her mother. When they’re in the same room, Brittany’s eyes are focused on Whitney, watching her every move with a focused gaze – eyes tracing her across the room.

She asks Brittany about it one night, curled up next to her on Brittany’s bed, pinkies linked over Santana’s stomach.

‘Britt,’ She whispers softly, not quite knowing if she’s asleep.

The sheets rustle slightly, ‘Yeah?’ Brittany’s voice is breathy and laced with tiredness.

‘Are you okay?’

Brittany turns her head so her breath hits Santana’s cheek, ‘Watcha mean?’

Santana’s stomach flops at the feeling, ‘You seem sad,’ She says, ‘About your Mom.’

She can hear the frown in Brittany’s voice, ‘You mean about baby?’

Santana nods, and then remembers Brittany can’t see her and says, ‘Yeah.’

Brittany’s silent for a moment, not long enough for Santana to wonder if she’s fallen asleep, but just long enough that she starts to worry she’s said something wrong.

Then she feels Brittany let out a long exhale, before saying, very slowly and quietly, ‘What if I’m not a good sister?’

Santana’s grip on Brittany’s pinky immediately tightens, pulling her hand closer. ‘Britt,’ She breathes.

Brittany interrupts her, ‘I know you’ve told me before that I’m going to be good. But, just, what if I’m not.’

Santana raises her voice just a bit to get her point across, ‘But you will be, Britt.’

The uncertainty makes Brittany’s voice waiver, ‘But you don’t _know_ that.’

Santana sits up, ‘Yes I do.’

Brittany raises herself onto her elbows, squinting at Santana in the darkness, ‘You can’t see the future, San.’

There’s a hint of sadness in her voice that makes Santana’s heart break – like she’s completely given up on the idea that she can be a good big sister. She shakes her head rapidly, ‘Brittany,’ She pauses, not quite knowing how to phrase what she wants to say, ‘Baby is going to love you because they’re going to see you the same way I see you.’

There’s silence for a moment, then Brittany says, in almost a whisper, ‘How do you see me?’

Santana lies back down and looks up the ceiling, ‘Perfect,’ She says, ‘I see you as perfect. And baby is going to see you that way too because that’s how everyone who loves you sees you.’

She feels Brittany’s head thump back down onto the pillow, ‘Oh.’ Is all she says.

She hadn’t lied; Brittany is perfect in a way she can’t put into words. She’s everything good and smart and kind, and just so, so perfect.

\----------

They’re at that age where kids invite everyone in their class to their birthday parties.

Which is why they both receive invites to Rachel Berry’s birthday party in December, despite neither of them regularly talking to the girl.

Santana almost wants to refuse point blank to go based on the way Rachel yelled at Brittany on her very first day, but Brittany gives her a small smile and whispers that they should go, because a lot of kids already aren’t.

She assumes its just because Rachel is generally loud, and she knows that some kids find that irritating. But then she hears Whitney mutter something to Pierce about ‘stupid homophobes’ when Brittany brings up the fact that not many kids are going on the evening before the party. She thinks maybe she heard that wrong - she doesn’t know that word - but Brittany must hear it too because she asks her mom what she means.

Whitney sighs, and sits them down on the couch. Santana’s knee presses against Brittany’s and she feels that familiar jolt that she associates with Brittany go through her. Whitney smiles and says, ‘Do you two know anything about Rachel’s parents?’

Brittany shakes her head, but Santana nods, ‘My Abuela talks about them sometimes,’ She frowns, ‘She says they shouldn’t have a kid, they go against God.’

Whitney’s smile turns slightly sad, ‘Do you know why she thinks that?’

Santana pauses, then looks at Brittany who shrugs, ‘She’s Jewish,’ She says, ‘She talks about that all the time.’

‘Yeah,’ Brittany adds, ‘She does.’

Brittany’s father joins the conversation and shakes his head, ‘She is Jewish, but that’s not why your grandma doesn’t like Rachel’s parents.’

‘Why then?’ Brittany asks.

There’s a certain innocence to her voice that Santana doesn’t quite understand. But she sees the way Whitney’s face changes, glancing at Pierce as though she doesn’t want to break their hearts.

None of them know the concept she’s about to explain will break their hearts over and over again in the future.

‘Well,’ Whitney says slowly, ‘Rachel has two dads.’

‘Oh,’ Brittany bounces in her seat, ‘Does she have two houses too?’

‘No honey, she just has one house. She lives there with her two dads.’

Santana catches on before Brittany does and asks, ‘What about her mom?’

‘She doesn’t have a mom,’ Pierce answers, ‘Just two dads.’

‘Oh,’ Brittany says again, then she giggles, ‘But two boys can’t have a baby.’

Santana and Whitney both scrunch their face up at the same time.

Pierce laughs at this. ‘No, they can’t,’ He says matter-of-factly, ‘But there are lots of different ways to have a baby.’ He smiles widely at Brittany.

Silence falls over the room for a second at the acknowledgement of a topic that’s never really been brought up before.

Brittany looks at Whitney’s stomach for a minute, ‘Like how you’re my dad and baby’s dad?’

She didn’t even say the actual words out loud, but it’s clear from her words that she understands that Pierce is not her biological father. Whitney lets out a long breath.

‘Yeah,’ Pierce says, ‘Just like that. How I love you both so much.’

Brittany meets his eyes and smiles, ‘I love you too.’

Santana feels a little like she’s imposing on a personal family moment. But then Pierce is pulling them both into a hug and ruffling her hair.

When he pulls back, Brittany’s face scrunches up into a frown, ‘But why don’t people want to go to Rachel’s party just because she has two dads?’

‘Some people don’t think they should be able to have kids because they won’t have a mommy and a daddy,’ Whitney runs her hand through her daughter’s hair.

‘Hmm,’ Brittany’s nose scrunches as she thinks, ‘That’s a bit silly.’

Whitney laughs, ‘Yeah, it is.’

It’s not until they’re in bed later that Brittany says anything about the conversation to Santana. She rolls over and bops Santana’s nose to get her to open her eyes.

‘San,’ She whispers.

‘Hmm.’

‘Why do you think people don’t want people to have kids if they don’t have a mommy and a daddy?’

Santana opens her eyes fully at this. She knows why. ‘My Abuela says they’re sinners. Rachel’s dads.’

Brittany frowns, ‘What’s that mean?’ Her words slurring slightly in her sleepy state.

‘’t means they don’t follow the Bible.’

‘I don’t follow the Bible.’

Santana nods, ‘Yeah you do.’

‘I don’t mean to.’

‘But you do.’

‘Okay.’

There’s silence for a while, and Santana’s eyelids flutter closed, sleep slowly taking over.

Then Brittany says, ‘I don’t think it’s bad to want to have a kid, as long as you love them.’

Santana doesn’t answer.

Brittany keeps going, ‘My dad loves me and he’s not my real dad. And Finn only has a mom and she loves him.’

Santana keeps her eyes closed, unsure of what to say in response to that.

Brittany gentle pulls her hand over and hooks their pinkies together. ‘Goodnight Santana. I love you.’

She presses a very gentle kiss to Santana’s cheek.

Santana finds she can’t sleep for hours, the spot where Brittany’s lips touched tingling.

\----------

Pierce Pierce knocks on the Berry’s front door just after one pm the next day.

Santana and Brittany stand just behind him, pinkies hooked - both holding gifts in their other hands. They’re both wearing party dresses with stockings and coats – it had snowed overnight, and Santana can still feel the cold seeping through her stockings and making her shiver.

A tall man answers the door. Santana thinks she can see the resemblance to Rachel, and when he smiles down at them, she can definitely see it. ‘Hello,’ He says warmly, ‘What are your names?’

For some reason Santana finds herself wanting to hide behind Brittany and she shifts uncomfortably, dropping her gaze away from Mr Berry’s face and down to the ground. She feels slightly guilty – like she’s disobeying her Abuela by being here.

Brittany squeezes her pinky and answers for both of them, ‘I’m Brittany, and this is Santana.’

‘It’s very nice to meet you, Brittany and Santana. I’m Hiram, Rachel’s dad,’ Santana looks up again and he smiles at her, ‘Rachel and the other’s are downstairs, I’ll show you where.’ He looks at Pierce, ‘You’re welcome to stay if you’d like.’

Pierce shakes his head, ‘That’s okay,’ He smiles, ‘I’m sure they’ll be fine.’ He bends down and kisses each of them on the head, ‘Santana’s dad will pick you up, okay?’

They both nod and Pierce waves as he walks away.

Hiram Berry smiles at them and ushers them out of the cold, helping them hang their coats on the hooks by the door and leads them to a set of stairs that go down to what Santana assumes is the basement.

She can hear Rachel chattering from here.

Rachel squeals when she sees them and runs over from where she was talking to Ella Caulfield and Ben Talbot. ‘Brittany! Santana! Hi!’

‘Hi Rachel,’ Brittany says, handing over her gift, ‘Happy Birthday!’

Santana passes hers over as well, ‘Happy Birthday.’

Rachel smiles, ‘Thank you so much. We’re just about to play musical chairs if you’d like to join?’

Brittany nods, ‘Yes please.’

Rachel moves away from them to add their gifts to a table in the corner, which, Santana notes is quite empty. There’s not many people here, maybe five kids from school, including them and a couple of girls Santana doesn’t know that she assumes Rachel does dance or singing lessons with.

She smiles at Kurt Hummel who’s standing alone in a corner. They’re desk buddies this year and even though they hardly ever talk, he’s quite nice.

Brittany dances excitedly on the spot as Rachel announces musical chairs. Santana feels her heart swell as she watches Brittany grin, it doesn’t even bother her when Brittany drops her hand to go join in the game.

It surprises Santana how much fun the party is, considering it’s being hosted by Rachel Berry. She’s even more surprised by how happy it makes her seeing Rachel so obviously enjoying herself. She seems different in her own home, happy and carefree – not as concerned about what other people think about her. She’s not showing off like she usually does, she’s just having fun – acting her own age instead of someone years older.

In many years’ time, Santana will learn that sometimes having people tell you your family is a sin and an abomination will make you grow up far too quickly – will make you put up walls around yourself so you don’t get hurt.

She smiles when Brittany and Rachel are the last two left in musical chairs. She smiles even more when Rachel wins, because she knows Brittany let her because it’s her birthday.

Rachel pulls Brittany into a hug and Santana catches both of Rachel’s dads sharing a relieved look.

She doesn’t quite understand what it means.

They play a few more party games, musical statues and pass-the-parcel. Then Rachel pulls out a karaoke machine and they all take turns singing Disney songs at the top of their lungs.

She’s never actually heard Rachel sing before, and she secretly thinks that maybe she has the right to brag about her ability at school, because she’s really good.

A girl from Rachel’s singing class and Rachel are duetting a song from Hercules when Santana finally decides to get a snack from the snack table.

She grabs a handful of chips and a brownie and stands off to the side eating them. She eats the brownie first and then takes a few bites of the chips as the song finishes, awkwardly clapping while trying not to drop the remaining chips.

It’s then that her face starts to feel really weird. It feels hot, but itchy, and she doesn’t know why.

She goes and sits down on the couch in the corner, thinking that maybe she’s just hot from dancing and she’ll cool down if she just sits for a moment.

Then her throat starts itching too. Then it starts feeling tight, like it’s getting smaller.

She panics, she doesn’t know what’s happening. She brings her hand up to her chest, her fingers grabbing at the fabric of her dress.

Brittany comes to sit next to her, taking a chip out of her hand and popping it in her mouth, ‘You having fun?’ She says around the food.

Santana grabs her arm tightly – she can’t breathe properly.

Brittany looks at her and panic fills her eyes, ‘Santana?’

Santana tries to speak but all that comes out is a wheezing sound.

‘Santana?’

She wheezes again.

Brittany stares at her for a moment. Through the panic and fear hazing through her mind, Santana sees the moment it clicks in Brittany’s head. She jumps up, Santana’s fingernails scratching her arm as she rips it away and runs across the room to where Rachel’s dads are standing.

Santana tries desperately to suck air into her lungs, but she can’t. It sounds very distant when Brittany says, ‘Mr Berry, I think Santana’s having an allergic reaction.’

Then both Mr Berry’s are at her side. The one who greeted them at the door – Santana can’t remember his name right now – asking her questions that aren’t processing through her brain.

‘Santana,’ He says gently, ‘Do you know what you’re allergic too? Do you have an EpiPen?’

Santana can’t answer, she’s full-on panicking right now, which might be making everything worse, but she’s going to die – she’s only seven – she’s only seven and she’s going to die and it’s going to ruin Rachel Berry’s birthday party.

Somehow, Brittany is remaining calm and she answers for her, ‘She’s allergic to peanuts, and she always has her medicine with her. I think it’s in her coat pocket.’

Rachel’s other dad is on the phone, and the other kids are starting to crowd around Santana, looking at her curiously. ‘Brittany,’ Rachel’s dad says softly, ‘Can you go and get the medicine, take Rachel with you so you don’t get lost.’

Santana whimpers as Brittany runs upstairs with Rachel.

Mr Berry strokes her hair gently, ‘Hey,’ He smiles, ‘It’s okay. I’m a doctor, nothing bad is going to happen.’

Kurt Hummel chooses that moment to speak, ‘Her dad is a doctor too.’ Santana doesn’t remember telling Kurt that. But he continues, ‘He helped fix my arm when I broke it last year.’

Mr Berry looks at Santana, ‘Really?’

She manages to nod.

‘What’s your last name?’

‘Lopez,’ Kurt supplies.

Mr Berry smiles, ‘Your dad must be Javier Lopez?’

She nods again.

‘He’s a very good doctor, you’re going to be just fine.’

Santana feels a bit better. Not in a physical sense – she still can’t breathe, her lungs feel like concrete – but she feels calmer, her head isn’t spinning as much, which is helping her to stop thinking she’s going to die.

Brittany and Rachel come running back down the stairs. Brittany holds out her hand and passes Santana’s EpiPen to Mr Berry.

‘The ambulance is coming it’ll be here in a few minutes,’ The other Mr Berry says at the same moment.

The first Mr Berry, Hiram, Santana remembers, nods, ‘Good, take the other kids upstairs while I do this.’

He ushers everyone out of the room as Hiram uncaps the EpiPen – Brittany refuses to leave, holding tightly to Santana’s arm. She shakes her head when Rachel tries to pull her away.

Santana nods at Brittany, her eyes begging her to stay. Her vision is going a little fuzzy and she really doesn’t want to die in a room alone with Rachel’s dad.

Brittany wraps her arms around Santana’s shoulder and squeezes tightly. Hiram counts down from three and jabs the EpiPen into her thigh. She gasps. It hurt. A lot.

Brittany’s grip tightens, but she doesn’t say anything.

Santana immediately feels her throat loosen, which makes the pain from the needle even worse, because she’s less focused on the fact that she couldn’t breathe.

Hiram picks her up and carries her up the stairs, making sure to let her arm hang down so Brittany can keep a hold of her hand.

Santana’s never realized how tiny Brittany is until that moment. She’s littler than Brittany, so she’s always seen her as big. But now, in the arms of Rachel’s dad, Brittany a step behind her on the stairs, her face scrunched up with worry, her eyes brimming with tears, that haven’t started to fall yet, Santana realizes that she’s small too – tiny even.

She looks so scared, more scared than Santana feels, even though her throat is the one that’s closing up. She thinks that might be because the EpiPen made her heart beat super-fast and she feels a bit floaty right now.

The other Mr Berry, the one not currently holding her, wraps her coat around her and Hiram carries her out the front door. Brittany tries to follow but Mr Berry stops her, ‘They won’t let you in the ambulance honey, I’ve called your dad he’s going to come and get you okay?’

Brittany protests and tries to run after Santana. He holds her back as she tries to wrestle her way out of his grip. ‘SANTANA!’ She screams, ‘Let me go! Let me go!’

It’s the only time Santana have ever seen Brittany get angry or violent and it shocks her slightly. She doesn’t have enough strength to yell back and tell her it’s going to be okay, so she just lifts up her arm and holds her pinky out like she’s going to hook it around Brittany’s.

Before the door closes, Santana sees Brittany hold out her pinky as well.

Hiram Berry stays with her in the ambulance. He squeezes her hand when they put a needle in her arm, and helps her answer all the questions they have about her parents.

It’s when Hiram reveals he’s not her father, that it seems to click who he is. They give him a dirty look and start grilling him about what they’d been doing and what they’d fed her and if they’d deliberately left out snacks with peanuts at a children’s birthday party.

Santana shakes her head, trying to let them know that it wasn’t his fault. Her mother had told Rachel’s dads when she called to RSVP, and Rachel had given her a list at school the other day of all the foods they were going to have and Maribel and Javier had both approved all of the foods and called the Berry’s to thank them for the extra effort.

Hiram doesn’t make any comment about the tone of their voices or the accusatory nature of the questions, he just looks down at Santana and asks what she ate.

In the end, he determines the brownies must have contained traces of nuts, and that Santana’s allergy was much more severe than everyone had thought.

Her dad is waiting at the ambulance bay of the hospital and he immediately pulls her into a tight hug, kissing her forehead repeatedly, ‘You okay, baby girl?’ He asks very softly.

She nods. They’d pumped her full of antihistamines in the ambulance and said the hospital would probably keep her overnight for observation.

She feels exhausted but a lot better.

Javier turns to Hiram Berry once she’s situated in a hospital bed and shakes his hand firmly, ‘Thank you.’

Hiram just nods, ‘You would do the same for Rachel.’

Santana whimpers, the thought of Rachel reminding her of Brittany. ‘Britt,’ She mumbles.

Javier strokes her head as she starts to cry, the overwhelming nature of the situation starting to catch up to her. ‘Your mom called a little while ago, she’s on her way, and Brittany and Pierce are going to come a bit later once you’re up to visitors.’

Santana whimpers again and curls up against her dad. He rubs her back and whispers soothing words.

At some point, she falls asleep.

When she wakes up the first thing, she’s aware of is how itchy her face is.

The second things is that Hiram Berry is no longer there and her mom is wrapped around her other side. She lets out a small groan, still feeling exhausted.

‘Hey,’ Maribel brushes the hair out of her face, before promptly bursting into tears, ‘Oh, Mija, I was so worried.’

Santana presses a kiss to her mom’s nose, then falls back to sleep.

The next time she wakes up, Brittany is where Maribel was before.

‘Santana,’ She whispers when she sees Santana’s eyes opening, ‘Are you okay?’

Santana nods.

Tears well up in Brittany’s eyes, the red contrasting to the blue, they don’t fall though, ‘I thought you were going to die, Santana.’

Santana doesn’t really know how to respond to that, she thought she was going to die too, ‘I’m okay,’ She says.

Brittany wraps her pinky around Santana’s, ‘I was so scared.’

‘Me too,’ Santana admits, ‘But, Brittany?’

‘Yeah?’

Santana feels like she’s going to start crying again, her throat closing slightly for a completely different reason, ‘You stayed so calm, you answered all of Mr Berry’s questions.’

‘It’s true.’

Santana whips her head up, she hadn’t realized that her dad was in the room.

‘Mr Berry told us how you helped Brittany,’ He smiles, ‘You knew where Santana’s EpiPen was, you saved her life.’

Brittany’s eyes widen, ‘Really?’

Javier nods.

‘Wow.’

Santana squeezes her pinky, ‘Thank you.’

Brittany just nuzzles closer into her side, ‘I love you.’

Santana smiles, ‘I love you too, Britt-Britt.’

\----------

A few days later Santana and her parents show up to the Berry’s house with flowers.

The other Mr Berry, not Hiram, opens the door and lets them in.

Santana passes the flowers over to him with a murmured, ‘Thank you.’ And then hides behind her mother’s leg.

The adults make small talk, her parents thanking the Berry’s over and over again for all they did.

Santana spots Rachel in the corner of the living room, looking at her with wide eyes. She detaches herself from her mother and goes over to sit down next to her.

‘Hi,’ She says.

‘Hi,’ Rachel replies.

Santana smiles at her, ‘I’m sorry for ruining your birthday party.’

Rachel shrugs, ‘It’s okay. I’m glad you’re alright.’

‘I’m sorry we never got to have cake.’

Rachel smiles at that, ‘I had lots of cake later.’

The fact that she interrupted Rachel’s party has been stressing Santana out a lot over the past few days, she didn’t mean to cause a commotion. She apologizes again.

Rachel meets her eyes, ‘It really is okay.’ She must see the uncertainty in Santana’s face, because she says, ‘I have a birthday every year, you only have one life, I’m just happy you’re okay.’

It’s something very profound for a seven-year-old to say, and it hits Santana in that moment that Rachel Berry is very selfless for someone who often acts quite selfishly.

That fact is something she forgets at some point in their early teen years, and something she apologizes for forgetting for the rest of their adult lives. 

‘Sorry,’ She says one more time, ‘That my Abuela hates you.’

Rachel frowns, ‘I don’t know your Abuela,’ She pauses, ‘Or what an Abuela is.’

‘My grandma,’ Santana supplies, ‘And she doesn’t like your dads just because they have you. I don’t think that’s very nice. They seem like great dads.’

Rachel nods, ‘They are. Thank you for apologizing, even if it’s not your fault what your Abuela thinks.’

Santana shrugs, ‘Still, I don’t think it’s nice that she’s mean when she doesn’t even know you.’

Rachel looks at her, really looks at her. Santana finds herself scanning Rachel’s face as well, looking for something in her eyes that will tell her the answer to the question Rachel seems to be asking with her eyes.

Finally, Rachel says, ‘It’ll be okay, just so you know.’

Santana really has no idea what she’s talking about, so she says nothing, but she gains a certain admiration for Rachel Berry that day that carries over into their adult lives.

\----------

After the incident at Rachel’s party, Brittany becomes cautious around Santana. Not in a fearful way, just in an ‘on edge’ way, that means she watches everything that goes into Santana’s mouth.

It’s sweet, and Santana would be lying if she said she wasn’t a lot more scared now either.

They’re lying on the balcony of the treehouse one evening, watching the stars take their place as the day switches to night, when Brittany rolls over to face her, gazing intently at the side of Santana’s face.

‘We’ve both nearly died,’ Brittany says softly, ‘I think that’s a lot for two seven-year-olds.’

Santana frowns, ‘When have you nearly died?’

‘My accident, before I came here.’

Santana looks over at her, turning her gaze away from the stars and meeting Brittany’s eyes instead. ‘I didn’t know it was that bad, I thought you just went to sleep for a bit.’

Brittany nods, ‘Yeah, but it was the special medical sleep. They didn’t know if I was going to wake up.’

Santana feels tears building behind her eyes. ‘Brittany,’ She whispers. She doesn’t really know what she wanted to say, but she can’t get the words out anyway, the tears threatening to spill over. She doesn’t know why she’s crying either – she’s never had any real experience with death, not enough to understand it or understand the permanency of it, the impact it has. But just the thought that there could be a world without Brittany makes her feel like her heart stops beating for a moment.

A world without Brittany’s smile and her eyes and her laugh.

She chokes on a sob.

Brittany looks over at her, she smiles – the smile that Santana so desperately doesn’t want to lose – Brittany grips her pinky tightly with her own and says, ‘Don’t cry Santana, I’m still here.’

The softness of her voice stops another sob from breaking free. Because there’s so much truth to what Brittany said. She is here. She’s okay and she’s lying next to Santana.

‘My mom always says we shouldn’t worry about the what-ifs? We just need to live in the moment,’ Brittany’s nose scrunches and Santana gets the overwhelming urge to do something, something she doesn’t understand. ‘Everything happens for a reason.’

‘Your mom is really smart, Britt,’ Santana says, because she is. She’s right. Brittany’s here and she’s okay, and Santana needs to focus on that, not the fact that there was once a possibility that she wouldn’t be. Something about the second statement clicks in her mind, ‘She’s right.’

Brittany nods, ‘I know.’

‘No, Britt, us,’ Santana sits up and gestures between them. ‘If you hadn’t have been in your accident you never would have moved here and met me.’ She smiles, ‘Everything happens for a reason. The reason is us.’

Brittany grins, ‘Of course it’s us,’ She dramatically holds out her pinky, ‘We’re Britt-Britt and San.’

Santana hooks her pinky around Brittany’s. ‘Together forever,’ She finishes.

And just like that, the tension of the moment is broken and Brittany bursts into a fit of giggles, curling over onto herself and just laughing. Santana doesn’t know why she’s laughing, but the sight of Brittany so happy makes her start laughing too.

Her heart skips a beat at the sound of Brittany’s loud, clear and loud. It sounds like heaven she thinks – she would be happy if that was the only noise she heard for the rest of her life.

She wonders if anyone else has ever made Brittany laugh like that. She wonders if anyone else ever will.

She hopes not. She wants that laugh, that proper Brittany laugh to be something only she can cause. She’s never seen her laugh like that with anyone else – she wants to keep it that way.

In the year and a half she’s known Brittany she’s seen lots of different Brittany laughs. None of them are as genuine as this one.

Her own laugh trails off at the thought of needing to share Brittany one day, of Brittany not just being hers.

She stares at Brittany, taking her in. Her hair braided down her back – chunks falling out and sticking up – her face, twisted in joy as she laughs, her freckles stretching out, dimples prominent. But what makes Santana feel like she’s falling in the look in Brittany’s piercing blue eyes – a look of pure happiness, unburdened by life or pain – emotions Santana sometimes feels even when she thinks she’s too young to feel them.

Brittany notices she’s stopped laughing and her own giggles falter. ‘What’s wrong, San?’ She hiccups.

‘Nothing’s wrong,’ Santana says, ‘I was just thinking about you.’

Brittany smiles, ‘Me?’

‘Yeah?’

“What about me?’

A slight frown curls Santana’s forehead, ‘Just...’ She pauses, ‘One day you won’t be mine.’

Brittany frowns too, ‘What do you mean?’

‘One day we’re going to get married and there will be other people, not just us.’

Brittany shrugs, ‘We don’t have to get married.’ She smiles, ‘And even if we do, you’ll always be my best friend.’

‘Really?’

Brittany nods, her braids bouncing, ‘Of course.’ She jumps up and runs inside the treehouse, she comes back out a moment later holding her snow globe. ‘See,’ She says, ‘This is ours,’ She gestures around them, ‘And this is ours,’ She gestures between the two of them. ‘Whenever you forget just shake your snow globe and remember I’m right here,’ She reaches out and grabs Santana’s pinky with her own, before placing their joined hands on Santana's chest, just over her heart.

Santana nods, then pushes their hands back, placing them over Brittany’s heart. She smiles, ‘Right here.’

Brittany lifts the snow globe up and gives it a firm shake.

They both watch intently as the leaves fly up around the tree and start to descend again.

As the last of leaves fall back down, Brittany gives her pinky a tight squeeze, ‘I’m always here.’

Santana believes her.

\----------

Santana shakes her snow globe a lot.

She shakes it each night before she goes to bed; a reminder that she’s going to see Brittany again when she wakes up, or maybe she’ll even see her in her dreams – she usually does. She closes her eyes to the sight of the autumn leaves falling, and wakes with her eyes focused on the tiny branches.

She shakes it when she wakes up in the morning before she slides out of bed – reminding herself that she’ll usually see Brittany very soon.

It becomes one of the items that she carries back and forth between her parent's houses when her Dad moves into his apartment when she’s nine. The items she takes to her Dad’s on weekends can all fit into a duffle bag, but the snow globe is the one thing she refuses to sacrifice for space.

She takes it with her on her first-ever Cheerios Camp right after she turns fourteen – even though Brittany is there, she treats it a bit like a lucky charm, and it must work because they both get a place on the squad.

She’s even more attached to it when her and Brittany start their weird game; when they talk to each other about everything except the one thing they really should be talking about. If they’re even talking at all instead of Brittany climbing on top of Santana and kissing her so hard she forgets her name.

She shakes her snow globe up and down every time after Brittany leaves, her brain repeating the mantra ‘ _Girls don’t marry girls.’_

She shakes it when she’s crying, and she shakes it in those few moments when she’s happy and needs a bit of Brittany to make her stay happy – even when Brittany sometimes makes her feel the worst.

She packs it in her backpack the day she finally works up the courage to tell Brittany how she feels, and she clenches it in her fist as she cries in the bathroom after Brittany rejects her.

It sits next to the bed where they spend most of the summer lounging around in together. The summer where they haven’t really defined what they’re doing, but Santana doesn’t really care because she’s just existing, just being herself – and she’s her best self when she’s with Brittany, so as long as they’re together she doesn’t mind.

The night after their first official date she shakes it up and down so vigorously that she thinks it might break – but she really doesn’t care because she’s so happy that nothing could bring her spirits downs.

She clings onto it like a lifeline the day the commercial airs, the night she plans to come out to her parents.

She doesn’t touch it the day her Abuela rejects her, mostly because Brittany’s pressed against her right side, and her Mami is pressed against her left as she sobs, making it almost impossible for her to reach out and grab it.

But her lifeline is Brittany, not the snow globe. So, having her girlfriend there makes everything just a tiny bit more bearable.

It’s the first thing she places into her boxes for college, and it gets placed on the shelf right next to her head, so that no matter what, Brittany is always right next to her.

She almost throws it across the room the day she comes back from Lima after breaking up with Brittany. But she can’t destroy the one piece of their relationship she still has left, so it stays right where it’s always been – next to her.

It’s the first thing to go in the box when she packs after dropping out of college.

It’s also the first thing she unpacks when she arrives in New York. She doesn’t have a proper bed, or a nightstand, but she forces Rachel to let her put it on the little shelf in the corner of the living space. She doesn’t even need to threaten her to do it, she just says ‘ _Brittany_ ,’ when Rachel throws her questioning look, and Rachel’s face softens, and she nods in response.

The first time she’s apart from it for more than a few days is when she goes to Hawaii with Brittany. It’s an impromptu kind of trip, and the snow globe is still in New York, and she’s packing in Lima. So, it gets left behind.

But she has Brittany, _actually has Brittany_ , so she doesn’t mind. Because every time she gets the urge to reach for her comfort item that’s not there, she just turns to her right, and Brittany is just beside her, a smile lighting up her face.

When they get back and they officially move into the bedroom that Rachel no long vacates, their snow globes are the first things placed on their respective nightstands. It brings a smile to Santana’s face every time she glances over at Brittany’s side of the bed and sees the replica of the item that’s brought her so much comfort.

Because, shortly after Santana proposes, and both their first instincts are to grab their snow globes excitedly, Brittany explains that the snow globe has always been her connection to Santana when Santana isn’t there.

In that moment, Santana’s first thought is about fate and connection. As always, she’s reminded that Brittany has always been the missing piece that helps keep her together – she’s not just her girlfriend, or her friend – she’s a part of Santana, who she was, who she is, and who she knows she’ll become.

The snow globe is part of the reason their wedding has a rustic, autumn feel to it – a collective decision that they feels pays respect to their past and sets them up for their future together.

Both their snow globes get placed on a shelf in the living room of their first apartment. They don’t need to be in their bedroom anymore, because they don’t need reassurance that they have one another – the wedding bands on their fingers do that. Their spots next to each other do that.

Their snow globes get taken off the shelf when they have their first appointment Dr Hammon. They get tucked inside Brittany’s bag, the good luck charm they might not need but want anyway. Santana runs her fingers over the glass before she hops up on the examination table.

They get tucked back into Brittany’s bag for every appointment from that moment onwards. At first, to give them the luck they need for it to work, and after that, to ensure that Santana and their baby is healthy.

They’re also the first thing that gets packed in their hospital bag towards the end of Santana’s third trimester – they want to be prepared, and the bag sits by the door for a whole month before it’s needed, but it’s comforting to know their good luck charms will be there for the birth of their first child, no matter when that is.

When they first bring Isobel home from the hospital, she sleeps in a bassinet at the end of their bed. She’s tiny, tinier than Santana had expected, and when they first transition her to her own bedroom – just during the day at first – Santana feels so guilty leaving her alone. She looks so small in her crib, looking up at her Mama with wide brown eyes that beg her not to leave her by herself. She knows she has to, they have to teach her how to be by herself, as hard as it is. So, Santana grabs one of the snow globes off the shelf in the living room and places it on the bookshelf in the corner, that way, even when neither of them were there, Isobel would always have a piece of her Moms watching her.

It becomes a part of Isobel’s room – a decoration that sits in that same spot on her bookshelf until she starts walking and can reach it, then it gets moved higher, out of the read of small grabby hands.

It becomes a part of storytime when Izzy is a toddler – weaved into the words they tell her about princesses and happy endings. They curl up next to her, squeezing into her tiny toddler bed, and each link their pinkies with one of her small ones – they tell her about true love and evil monsters in a way that she can understand, but they always include treehouses in their fairytales.

They leave that snow globe in its spot when they start going for appointments for their second baby. They only take the one, and this time it’s Brittany who rubs her fingers over the glass before she takes her seat on the table.

The snow globe in Isobel’s room sparkles in the sunlight as they sit her on her bed and gently explain she’s going to be a big sister – the glare catches Santana in the eye as Izzy reaches out a tentative hand and touches Brittany’s stomach.

The second snow globe is once again placed in the hospital bag by the door well in advanced.

Izzy insists on brining her snow globe – because it’s hers now – with her when she goes to meet her baby sister for the first time.

When they bring Charlotte home, Isobel puts the snow globe back on her shelf, but whenever Charlie is sleeping in their room, she takes it off the shelf and puts it lower down so that her sister can see it.

The sweetest gesture comes when they move into a proper house – a house big enough for both of their daughters to have their own bedroom, with one room to spare. When unpacking, Izzy doesn’t put the snow globe on her own shelf, instead, she walks down the hallways and places it carefully on Charlotte’s bookshelf. Santana gives her a curious look and asks her why, Isobel shrugs, _‘I had my turn_.’

It makes no sense and perfect sense at the same time.

Which is why, when their third – and final, Santana insists – child is old enough to moves from the bassinet at the end of their bed, into his own bedroom, Brittany takes Charlie’s hand and helps her lift the snow globe off her shelf and carry it into Max’s room.

They take it back into the living room together when Max turns four. Partially because Izzy had it for four years, and Charlie had it for three, and they don’t want Max to have it for longer. But also because they buy their children one of their own each.

Brittany had tried to track down the store that had originally sold them, but with no luck.

Instead, they’d had three perfect little replicas made – one for each of their children.

They place the original back on the shelf in the living room, right next to its twin.

It’s belonged to all of them now.

Their whole family.

It was Brittany’s when she first bought it; Santana’s for all the years she owned it; Isobel’s for the first years of her life; Charlotte for the first years of hers; and finally, Max’s for the first years of his.

It’s been passed down through all of them, and maybe one day they can pass it down through more generations.

But for now, Santana thinks, as she places it on the shelf, _it’s where it belongs._

Next to its partner.

Just like she’s next to Brittany.

Always.

She stares at her reflection in the glass, reminded of the first time she looked at herself that way, all those years ago.

She can almost picture her seven-year-old self in the reflection, looking at the leaves falling with wonder in her eyes.

She’s changed so much from that moment.

But through it all, she’s always had Brittany.

So, she supposes, it’s been perfect all along.


End file.
